The invention concerns the technical field of caps with a dispensing orifice for closing the neck of a container.
In the above field, for closing a container having a neck, for example a bottle made of plastics material designed to contain water, it is known to use a cap made of plastics material which comprises an upper part having a dispensing orifice for dispensing the contents of the bottle. The cap also comprises a substantially cylindrical skirt extending from the upper part and having on an inner face means of fixing it on to the neck of the bottle. In order to be able to ensure closure of the dispensing orifice, the cap comprises in addition a lid connected to the upper part by at least one hinge in order to be movable between an open position and a closed position of the dispensing orifice. Insofar as it is desirable to be able to ensure the integrity of the contents of the bottle before its first opening, the cap comprises in addition a tamper-evident band generally situated opposite the hinge and connected to the upper part of the cap by at least two frangible straps each having a zone of least resistance for rupture. The tamper-evident band then defines a hooking edge for a hook carried by the lid.
More often than not, such a cap is made of plastics material injected in a mould which allows a monobloc cap to be obtained with an open configuration of the lid of the dispensing orifice. Thus, before first use of the cap, the lid is placed in the closed position covering the dispensing orifice, a position in which the hook of the lid is engaged under the hooking edge defined by the tamper-evident band.
A cap such as the above enables the hermetic closure of a container to be ensured while more often than not guaranteeing the integrity of the contents of the container before first opening of the lid of the cap.
However, in certain conditions it has appeared possible to disengage the hook of the lid from the tamper-evident band. In known such caps the tamper-evident band is exposed along its entire length, and is not held on the upper part of the cap other than by the frangible straps. Because access is possible to the entire length of the band and because it is not held against the closure it is relatively easy to defeat the tamper-evidence by gently stretching and/or manipulating the band, for example by inclining it away from its normal more or less vertical position, so that it can pass over the hook without breaking the frangible straps. Thus, it is possible to open the lid without breaking the straps connecting the tamper-evident band to he upper part of the cap. The tamper-evident band therefore no longer fulfils its function of guarantee for the integrity of the contents of the container onto which the cap is fitted.
Therefore there appears to be a need to have a cap whose tamper-proof system, comprising the hook of the lid and the tamper-evident band under which the hook is engaged, can guarantee the integrity of the contents of the container more effectively than the caps according to the prior art, by ensuring that any opening of the lid necessarily leads to a rupture of at least one of the connecting straps between the band and the upper part of the cap.
Moreover, after the first opening of a cap according to the prior art, the user has to get rid of the tamper-evident band, which is no longer of any use to him. So, apart from leaving the tamper-evident band on the ground, the user has to have at his disposal means for temporarily storing the tamper-evident band or a dustbin. The user does not always have such means at his disposal.
Therefore there appears to be a need to have a cap which gives a solution to this problem and relieves the user of the necessity of finding a means of getting rid of the tamper-evident band.